Starting Sunday, a week from tomorrow, Ninja Mafia day rounds will run from 9am till 9pm AEST and night rounds from 9pm till 9am. I'd expect the game to run for about 4 days - short and bloody is the key to this game.

I'm looking for at least 15 players for this version. Unlike earlier games on AFA, there will be no "special" players. This game will feature the ability for all players to explore a Japanese village and reveal information and/or pick up items which may aid them in their quest to identify and kill the evil Ninjas and the serial killing Ronin.

Welcome to feudal Japan, where honour, discipline and the rule of sword dominate. You are all inhabitants of a traditional Japanese village, which you will be able to explore and perhaps find useful information and/or objects in during the course of the game.

Village life was idealic and simple for the villagers, until a small group of highly skilled ninjas started terrorizing the place and, in keeping with a centuries old feud, killing off the samurai inhabitants of the village. It is your job to identify and exterminate this powerful band of deadly assassins. To make matters worse, there is also a Ronin at large, a lone rogue warrior intent on their bloodlust who kills without fear or favour.

The game takes place over two rounds per day, a 12 hour night round and a 12 hour day round.

During the day round, villagers may explore the village and possibly find useful items. But beware, the ninjas have also laid booby traps around the place which may result in unpleasant consequences if tripped.

Suspicious villagers vote to lynch one of the players. The innocents must try to use the lynchings to eliminate the Ninjas and the Ronin. The Ninjas may join in with the lynch mob and try and direct the fury of the mob against the Ronin and/or against hapless, innocent other villagers.

During the night rounds, the Ninja Team and the Ronin kill one victim each. Certain innocent players may also be able to perform night actions by virtue of the secret objects they may find during their day round explorations.

Victory Conditions

For the Innocent Samurai to win, the Ninjas and Ronin must be completely eliminated.

For the Ninjas to win, they must

A/ Kill the Ronin and
B/ Be able to form an unbeatable voting block - by outnumbering all the remaining innocent players in the game or by equalling the remaining innocents but gaining an advantage in the day time lynch vote by voting first and thus gaining superiority.

The Ronin only wins by literally being the last player alive. The Ronin does not hold any allegiances nor form any alliances.

This is a team game so even if you die during the course of the game, if your team wins then you are a winner too.

Characters

Players will be PM'd out their roles prior to the start of the game. Each PM will be worded differently, with different fonts, colours, size text, smilies , images and comments from the Game Mod(s). No two PMs will be alike. No PMs about game roles will be sent out to groups. PM's will be sent in random order, so that players in a team aren't sent PMs sequentially. Players may not reproduce, copy, screen shoot or otherwise use the text, time, content or any other aspect of their game role PM to try to prove who they are to other players. Players caught doing this will earn evil, rather horrid sanctions, the least of which will probably include being God....errr, Mod-killed.

The Ninjas will all know the identity of the members of their own group and be able to coordinate activities and strategies.

The Bad Guys

The Ninjas - Led by The Ninja Sensei, the Ninja team kills 1 victim per night and also places boobytraps throughout the village which may be tripped during a day round. Ninjas try to blend into the crowd when they're not out killing innocents, but there are certain ways that Ninjas can be identified. Player investigations, Mod clues and other game related items will aid innocents in identifying the Ninja minions. But beware, the Ninja Sensei will always appear to be innocent to any non-Ninjas.

There are some things that may protect you from Ninja attack - but we'll let you work out what they are.

The Ninjas cannot recruit another player. This is a non-recruiting game. No players can switch allegiances.

The Ronin- There is a Ronin loose in the village that roams the streets at night and slakes their bloodlust with a strike of their blood stained katana. The Ronin will appear guilty on any investigation.

Attempted kills on protected players will result in a message from the Game Mod(s) that the attempt was unsuccessful.

The Good Guys

Anyone not a Ninja or the Ronin are termed "Innocent Samurai". However, there is at least one innocent role that appears guilty on investigation.

There are two potential Kamikaze players - one Ninja and one Innocent. If the opposing player is killed, then the surviving Kamikaze is activated. The surviving kamikaze will have the option to kill themselves and one other player of their choice during a day round of their choosing. If the activated kamikaze is killed or lynched, they will also take out their killer or one of the players who voted for them for lynching. There is no risk to other players if they kill or vote to lynch an unactivated kamikaze.

All players, including the bad guys, may explore the village and select Game Mod provided options. Some are useful, some are not, some are decidedly dangerous.

Proxies

Players may nominate any other player to be their proxy for the round. Proxies may undertake a vote or perform an action on behalf of the person who nominated them. The goodies from the proxy action (or the unpleasant consequences) go to the person who gave the proxy, not to the player performing the proxied action.

The proxy status lasts for only one day, but can be renewed/changed to another player by posting in the game thread.

The proxy holder may vote differently (or perform a separate action) on behalf of the person who selected them.

A proxy vote can be changed or withdrawn if the proxy is un-nominated. A proxy action however, once stated, is final and can not be changed by un-nominating the proxy.

Game Play

Day Rounds

During a day round, the following events can take place:

A. Each player can vote for another player to be lynched by publicly voting in the game thread. Voting is compulsory. Players who do not vote will be punished, up to and including being God...errr, Mod-killed and excluded from the game.

B. Each player may choose to do one action and one action only per day round, unless otherwise specified by the Game Mods. The request should be prefaced by "I WANT TO GO TO" in bold capitals and then select an option from the village locations available that day (a list of options will be posted at the start of each day round - some options may not be available on sequential days). When you get to your destination, you will be offered a choice of activities. You may choose one of the options, or elect to back away without penalty (but your day action will be complete and no more allowed)

At the end of the round, the player with the most lynch votes is subjected to a brutal death at the hands of the mob. In the event of a tie, the first player to reach the final vote tally shall be killed.

Geddit ? Please endeavour to follow the correct format and update the voting tally as you go. Unclear, incorrect or informal votes may not be counted, and punitive measures taken, depending on the mood of the Game Mod(s) at the time.

Night Rounds

During the 12 hour window of a night round, the following events can take place:

A. The Ninja team selects a victim to be killed. The Ninja team will also be informed by the Game Mods of the location of the boobytraps in the next daytime round.
B. The Ronin selects a victim to be killed.
C. Night time actions may be performed. These may include a range of activities, use of a protective item, use of a weapon, an investigation or something else.

Attempted kills on any protected player(s), will result in a message from the Game Mod(s) that the attempt was unsuccessful.

Being targeted for death by multiple players will result in a first come, first served basis, according to the above list of priorities.

CLUES

From time to time, players may stumble over clues left around the village. Some will be straightforward, some may take some working out. Clues may relate to the identity of players, or how to obtain a power or prize, or may just be the game Mod(s) fucking with you. I/We're just those kind of people.

IMPORTANTAll game actions that are performed by PM must be sent to the Game Mod(s). If GM's do not receive notification of an action or change of action, it might not take place.

Da Main Rulz...

Rule #1 - The Game Mod(s) are always right
Rule #2 - If in doubt, refer to rule #1.
Rule #3 - The Game Mod(s) reserve the right to make modifications, amend the rules, or just make shit up as the game goes along.
Rule #4 - There is no rule #4
Rule #5 - Rule #1 is in effect at all times, even if to the uninitiated the GM's may appear to be wrong less than entirely correct.

Da Udder Rulz

The game does rely on the personal integrity of its players. Please keep the following rules to make the game fair and fun for everyone involved.

No screenshots, codes, or computer language reproduction of forum posts/profiles, PM's or any off-forum communication from the game moderators or other players may be used.

The text, time, format or any other aspect of the initial PM you receive from the mods giving your role should not be given to other players in any form or used as proof of your identity.

Please don't edit any posts you make in the game thread, except to fix typos and/or unintentional rule violations.

You may share the text of any additional clues or information sent to you by the game mods (other than the initial role PM), or paraphrase them as you like. You may reproduce in the game thread or via PM any graphics sent to you by the GM's, except for from the initial role PM.

You may lie about communications received from other players. You may make false claims about having received clues from the mods, and you may claim to have a different role than that assigned to you. You may not make false claims about rule clarifications or other "out of character" communications received from the game mods.

Game-related PMs from other players are exempt from the normal forum rules which ban the revelation of the contents of private communications. But please do not confuse game playing with real life. If in doubt, contact one of the game mods for guidance.

Absolutely no sockpuppets may be used to join the game.

No hacking into the GM's Photobucket account to try and see what's coming up. Most of the clues, codes and puzzles aren't stored there anyhow. And those that are, are in a locked folder that can't be publicly accessed.

Living players must not communicate with dead players about the game. In particular, players who receive clues during the game can not pass them on once they are dead.

Posts from forum members not involved in the game will be removed (apart from bookmarks). Spectators are welcome, but please do not interfere in the game.

Be aware that players may engage in any number of ruses and gambits in order to deceive you. The game moderators will at no stage confirm/deny any claim made by another player, unless it directly relates to the rules. False claims are a genuine and essential part of the game.

We reserve the right to eliminate (GOD KILL) any player who engages in severe misconduct from the game, although of course any player will have the chance to state his/her case to us before any such action is taken.

Fine print/FAQ
(these details are game mechanics that are not terribly important to understand the gist of the game, but you should read and understand those that apply to your own rule at a minimum)

LYNCHING1.1. Lynching votes (with or without proxies) may be submitted, withdrawn, changed & resubmitted up until the end of the day round. Any vote or change to a vote submitted after the deadline, or any post edited after the deadline will not be counted.1.2. Votes and change in votes must be made clearly. If the intent of a voting post is not clear to the game mods, the post may be ignored at our discretion.1.3. In the event of a tied lynching vote, the first player to reach and stay with the final number of votes will be the one lynched.1.4. Players may not vote for themselves to be lynched.1.5. If a tabulating error in a lynch vote takes place and the wrong player is lynched, the result will not be reversed. We will do our best to make sure no such error takes place, but we are not perfect.1.6. Players using Proxies must indicate that they are voting on behalf of a proxy(ies) in addition to their own vote. Proxy votes do not have to be the same as their holder's vote. 1.7. Please do not edit your voting posts if you wish to change your mind. Create a new voting post, and update the running totals.

KILLINGS2.1. The name of the target and the Ninja performing the kill should be PMed to the Game Mods during the night round. If the identity of the killer is not provided, it will be assumed to be the player sending the PM.2.2. If the same player is targeted by multiple killers, the death is on a 1st come, first served basis. 2.3. There are no soft or hard killings. Protection means protection. There are different means of protection available. 2.4. The Ninjas and Ronin may change their target at any time up until the end of the night round.2.5. If kill instructions are received from The Ninja Sensei, only they can later amend the instructions. Otherwise the last kill hit instruction received from any team member will be implemented. 2.6 Special Weapons provided by the Game Mods are one-use only. 2.7 Protective devices are also one use only, due to quality control issues with our supplier. Any acquired protective items may be used in a designated night round as a single use item only.

GENERAL3.1 Actions will only be accepted during the window for that round. Actions may not be pre-booked in any way.

If there are questions not answered here, they may be submitted to the Game Mods by PM or by posting on the sign up thread before the game or on the game thread once it's open. The Mod's decision is final on all calls.

Players are requested to please check their baggage prior to their entry into the game. Players will have to pass through a security check prior to starting. Prohibited items include :-

* Previous grudges from around the forum. * Previous grudges from another Mafia Game. * Assumptions about current roles because of previous roles held in other Mafia games. * Bad tempers, animosity and personal attacks.

Players are reminded that this is only a game and should be entered into with a positive spirit. You are requested to keep your sense of humour and fun on you at all times and to not take this game too seriously. Please refrain from bitching until after you have left the game and can bitch in the specially marked afterlife area.

__________________
Evil is Evil, lesser, greater, middling it makes no difference. The degree is arbitrary, the definitions blurred. If iam to choose between one Evil or another, ild rather not choose at all - Geralt of Rivia - Killing Monsters

I will join on the understanding I will most probably proxy a random person late on the first day, proxy or vote unintelligently late on the second day and work out what to do if I am still alive on the third, not having collected anything. I will be travelling and doing stuff.